Page 27 of Whiskey Chase
“My wife was cheating on me, and I was too busy to notice,” Devlin said matter-of-factly. “When I did notice, it wasn’t pretty. My divorce will be final in a few weeks.”
He shot me the side-eye.
“Uh-huh.” I knew all this already.
“I’m on leave and under orders to lay low because, on the last day we were in session, I assaulted the guy she was sleeping with.”
Bowie slapped the table and hooted.
Gibson gave an almost imperceptible nod of approval. “Bet that felt good,” he predicted.
The corner of Devlin’s mouth quirked up.
I reached under the table and squeezed his knee. His truth seemed to embarrass him. But a man who’d punch out an asshole didn’t scare me. Hell, in Bootleg, that was an admirable quality.
“Your turn, Jonah. Spill your guts,” I said cheerfully.
“I’m Jonah Bodine. My mom gave me my father’s name, but that’s the only piece of him I ever had or wanted. I live in Washington State, and I’m a personal trainer. Until a week ago, I thought I was an only child. I don’t want anything from you. Just maybe a chance to get to know you. If you’re not all assholes.” Jonah reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. My brothers and I shared a glance. It was a nervous trait we’d all seen in our father.
“Why didn’t he want anything to do with you?” Gibson asked.
“Jeez, Gibs,” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe tone it down a notch?”
“No, it’s okay,” Jonah shrugged. “My mom never talked about him much. We used to live in Virginia. I guess she met your dad at a diner when he was passing through. I didn’t ask for details. She didn’t know he was married. She said he tried to make it right, but she didn’t want to ruin a family. So we made our own.”
“You said last night you’d met him twice?” I prodded.
Jonah nodded. “First time when I was like six or seven. We were still in Virginia then, and he came to the house one day. I was playing in the yard. We threw ball. I didn’t know. I was just a kid. When my mom came out, she freaked. Sent me inside. They talked for a long time in the yard, and then she cried the rest of the night.”
Gibson was staring hard at the table. Bowie was frowning into space. Jameson was his usual unreadable self. I wasn’t sure who I hurt for more.
“Before I put y’all’s food down, is there gonna be anyone else joining you?” Clarabell asked, carting a tray of steaming breakfast food.
Devlin answered for us all, and she doled out the hot plates.
“Be back with refills,” she promised and hustled away.
We dug in in silence and let Jonah’s story settle over us.
“You said you saw him twice,” Gibson said, finally breaking the silence.
Jonah poked at his eggs. “We moved cross-country when I started college. One weekend, I came home with a basket of laundry, and there he was at my mother’s house. He was drunk, upset about something, and she was treating him like a sick kid. I blew up. She had a boyfriend at the time, a nice guy. I thought he was back to mess things up for her again. I left, went back to school. We never spoke about it again.”
“I don’t know if y’all did the math, but that lines up with when Dad disappeared after Mom died,” I said quietly.
“So, he waited all of five seconds after she died before running back to the woman he had an affair with?” Gibson asked bitterly. “No offense,” he added at Jonah.
“Do you think Mom knew?” Bowie asked.
No one answered him.
I didn’t know what the best answer would be. Mama and Daddy’s relationship was volatile at best. In most ways, their relationship never progressed past the high school years. Petty jealousies, unrealistic expectations. They fought more than they got along, and we’d grown up thinking it was normal. There was a good reason none of us Bodines had settled down. We didn’t know how.
Cassidy and June’s parents, Sheriff Harlan and Nadine Tucker, were another story. Steady and strong. I know there’d been times over the years when they’d stepped up for each one of us when our own parents weren’t capable. I was grateful. And jealous.
Devlin cleared his throat. “It sounds like the next best step would be for you all to spend some time together. Get to know each other and decide if this is a relationship you want to develop or let go.”
We all looked at him.
